About the War of 1812 Database

The War of 1812 database is an index of approximately 40,000
names, published by the Commonwealth of Virginia, appearing in Pay
Rolls of Militia Entitled to Land Bounty Under the Act of Congress of
Sept. 28, 1850 (Richmond, 1851) and its supplement, Muster Rolls of
the Virginia Militia in the War of 1812 (Richmond, 1852). The
supplement includes militia companies and parts of companies omitted in
the published Pay Rolls.

These published materials are accurate transcriptions of the original
records from the Office of the Auditor of Public Accounts. The original
records are very fragile and poorly organized. They were transcribed,
indexed, and published in the 1850s to facilitate payment of Federal
pensions to War of 1812 veterans.

Due to the fragility and organization of the original records, Library
of Virginia patrons requesting copies of these records will receive
photocopied information from the published sources Pay Rolls of Militia
Entitled to Land Bounty Under the Act of Congress of Sept. 28, 1850
and Muster Rolls of the Virginia Militia in the War of 1812. For
research purposes, these published sources are considered the official
record of Virginia Militia War of 1812 military service.

Also indexed in this database are names contained in House of Delegates
documents and Legislative Petitions concerning individuals’ service in the
War of 1812. Legislative petitions are archival materials. House of
Delegates documents are found in Journal of the House of Delegates of
the Commonwealth of Virginia (Richmond, Va.). Usually the year and
page number are cited.

When available, photocopies of additional relevant information will
also be provided from the following published sources: Stuart L. Butler,
A Guide to Virginia Militia Units in the War of 1812 (Athens, GA:
1988) and Virgil D. White, Index to War of 1812 Pension Files
(Waynesboro, TN: 1989). Pension applications indexed by White are federal
records, and copies should be ordered from the National Archives and
Records Administration in Washington, D.C.

Key to citations in this database:

PR = Pay Rolls

MR = Muster Rolls

HDD = House of Delegates documents (printed material published for
and by the House of Delegates)